I have just had a 30-minute session with the Frolov respiratory training device, and I am surprised how well it went after a long break. I’m not sure why I stopped; perhaps it’s because I was feeling so right after the last run that I made the mistake of thinking I didn’t have to go any further. It is because I went on holiday and somehow being on holiday in a hotel room on the beautiful Greek island of Kefalonia did not seem compatible with spending time using this device.

The Frolov Respiratory Training Device

What device? I hear you say; The Frolov respiratory training device, an individual simulator inhaler. This is a Russian invention designed two retrain the medulla oblongata in the brain to allow you to retain more carbon dioxide say what question mark why on earth would you want to retain more carbon dioxide? Surely the point of breathing is to expel as much carbon dioxide as possible? Well actually, no, and paradoxically you can increase the oxygen into cells by retaining carbon dioxide hence the training to fool the automatic breathing centre in the brain to keep more carbon dioxide in the lungs and thus bloodstream. So as you can see from the photo, this device consists of a container, a flexible pipe and a mouthpiece. The idea is that you put some water into the pot and then breathe through your mouth a short breath in, followed by a natural long through the mouthpiece mouth so that you are breathing to a degree your carbon dioxide which increases the body’s tolerance carbon dioxide. Enough of the technical details at the moment, only to say that I am most pleased with my initial progress and my ability to oxygenate my cells has not been too severely compromised over the last 18 months. That is because I do other exercises, especially when I’m out walking, to naturally increase the amount of carbon dioxide in my lungs and my bloodstream.

Don’t waste your carbon dioxide!

Retaining carbon dioxide as a mechanism for getting more oxygen into cells is one of the Five Pillars of the Sakharoff Protocol and from my own experience has been clear that this is tremendously useful in enhancing one’s health.

For people who suffer from various lifestyle diseases such as bronchitis, bronchial asthma, COPD, hypertension, stenocardia and other chronic inflammatory conditions, this is a potent tool to use. Essentially the respiration training device is replicating the low oxygen conditions found at high altitude. Now, you may be able to remember that in the Soviet times the Russians were very keen to talk about the longevity of the residents in the Caucasian mountains and this has now been put down to among other things the fact that they live at high altitudes.

The benefits

What benefits have I had from this and what am I looking to improve? My blood pressure is normalised, I feel my metabolism is better, and I have more energy; I don’t get out of breath so quickly and cycling and walking fast is a great pleasure by using a technique called nose breathing where you keep your mouth closed when you’re doing exercise. I also feel that I am developing resilience and gaining strength. I have a gut feeling that I’m doing something that will keep me healthy for many years to come.

As well as measuring the periods of a respiratory cycle, that is, inhalation and exhalation compared to the amount of water I put in the container, I can also monitor my resting pulse. At this juncture, it is 51, although during the last period of using the device my resting pulse was as low as 41.

The Control Pause (CP)

I can also measure my so-called Control Pause, both in the evening and first thing in the morning. Let me define what the Control Pause is: if you breathe out and then try and refrain from breathing in, it is the amount of time in seconds that it takes for you to get air hungry and feel the need to inhale air. The interesting fact is that modern humans in western society have a Contol Pause (CP) of between 15 and 20 seconds whereas the records from 100 years ago show that the average CP was between 40 and 50 seconds. The Russian Doctor, Buteyko, observed that people who had cancer had a very very low CP of between 3 and 5 seconds. Conversely, healthy people have a CP of over 40 and it has been observed that cancer has a very hard time surviving when cells are oxygenated to the degree that there is enough carbon dioxide in the bloodstream indicated by a CP of over 60 seconds. At best, my CP was around 110 seconds 18 months ago, but alas, it has fallen back to about 60 seconds now. But I want to attain Super Health and build my CP up to 120 seconds and beyond. It seems that you can go all the way up to 240 seconds. If I get there, I will have attained Super Health. I don’t believe this; I know it. I have seen testimonials from those who were seriously ill and have transformed their health situation by learning how to breathe correctly and build up their CP to the Super Health level.

However, as I have mentioned in previous posts, this is only part of the story, and by combining breathing with the other factors in the Sakharoff Protocol, there can be a dramatic synergistic effect on the body and the psyche.

I will keep you posted on my progress with the Frolov respiratory training device.

PS: My average resting pulse according to my Fitbit, is 49, down from 51 yesterday and from 57 a week ago. My resting pulse last night before I went to bed was 42! Not bad for a 64-year old!

Last summer, a research group from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) quietly published the results of a new approach in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. What they found was striking. Although the size of the study was small, every participant demonstrated such marked improvement that almost all were found to be in the normal range on testing for memory and cognition by the study’s end. Functionally, this amounts to a cure.

These are important findings, not only because Alzheimer’s disease is projected to become ever more common as the population ages, but because current treatment options offer minimal improvement at best. Last July, a large clinical trial found little benefit in patients receiving a major new drug called LMTX. And after that, another hopeful drug designed to target amyloid protein, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, failed its first large clinical trial as well. Just two months ago, Merck announced the results of its trial of a drug called verubecestat, which is designed to inhibit formation of amyloid protein. It was found to be no better than placebo.

The results from UCLA aren’t due to an incredible new drug or medical breakthrough, though. Rather, the researchers used a protocol consisting of a variety of different lifestyle modifications to optimise metabolic parameters – such as inflammation and insulin resistance – that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Participants were counselled to change their diet (a lot of veggies), exercise, develop techniques for stress management, and improve their sleep, among other interventions. The most common ‘side effect’ was weight loss.

The study is notable not only for its remarkable outcomes, but also for the alternative paradigm it represents in the treatment of a complex, chronic disease. We’ve spent billions of dollars in an effort to understand the molecular basis of Alzheimer’s in the hope that it will lead to a cure, or at least to more effective therapies. And although we have greatly enlarged our knowledge of the disease, it has not yielded many successful treatments.

The situation is analogous in kind, if not quite degree, to the many other chronic diseases with which we now struggle, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. While we do have efficacious medications for these conditions, none work perfectly, and all have negative effects. Our understanding of the cellular processes at the root of these diseases is sophisticated, but technical mastery – the grail of a cure – has remained elusive.

Acknowledging these difficulties, the researchers at UCLA opted for a different approach. Beginning from the premise that Alzheimer’s disease is a particular manifestation of a highly complex system in disarray, they sought to optimise the system by changing the inputs. Put another way, the scientists chose to set aside the molecular box which has proven so vexing, and to focus instead on the context of the box itself. Although we cannot say precisely how the intervention worked, on a cellular level, the important thing is that it did work.

The method isn’t entirely novel. Researchers have already shown that multi-faceted, comprehensive lifestyle interventions can significantly improve outcomes in cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension. But it’s difficult for these approaches to gain traction for two reasons. First, these protocols are more challenging than simply taking a pill at bedtime. Patients need ongoing education, counselling and support to effect meaningful change. And second, the pharmaceutical mode of treatment is deeply embedded within our current medical system. Insurance companies are set up to pay for medication, not lifestyle change; and physicians are taught pharmacology, not nutrition.

Despite these difficulties, it’s time to start taking these approaches much more seriously. The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease is expected to triple over the next three decades, to nearly 14 million in the United States alone. Diabetes and other chronic diseases are expected to follow a similar trajectory. Trying to confront this epidemic with medication alone will raise a new host of problems, from prohibitive cost to adverse effects, without addressing any underlying cause. We know that comprehensive lifestyle modification can work for many chronic diseases, in some cases as well as medication. It deserves more than passing mention at the end of an annual check-up – it’s time to make it a cornerstone in the treatment not only of Alzheimer’s disease, but of all chronic disease.

Clayton Dalton

This article was originally published at Aeon and has been republished under Creative Commons.

The Danish TV news this evening is focusing on the fact that Prince Henrik, who is the husband of the Danish Queen Margrethe, has been diagnosed with dementia, namely Alzheimer’s disease. It is, of course, terrible news. He is 83 years old. I do not think that the majority of Danes are entirely surprised by this news because he has been saying some bizarre things publicly in recent months.

Dementia is widespread

The TV news has decided to focus on Alzheimer’s: in Denmark, we have a national centre for knowledge about dementia and, of course, the Alzheimer’s Association. In interviews with leading persons from these organisations, we learn that between 75,000 and 100,000 people in Denmark have dementia, of which 50 to 65,000 have Alzheimer’s disease. Neither of the interviewees indicated that anything could be done to cure Prince Henrik of his ailment.

They also interviewed relations of those who have had Alzheimer’s disease and these people, of course, expressed sympathy with the Royal Family in the struggle they will have in the future months, maybe years, with a loved one who is declining in cognitive ability.

People are rightly scared of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s

This focus on Alzheimer’s disease has the effect of making Danes very aware of it. The estimate is that there are about 8500 new cases every year. Just like AIDS in the 80s, people are terrified of this disease because there are no treatments to reverse the symptoms of this terrible disease. The question is, is this true? I will come back to that later.

My wife is a district nurse. She visits the homes of those with dementia every day and says that in a way a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s seems to be worse than a diagnosis of cancer because it is possible to treat cancer on early detection. However, it seems that Alzheimer’s cannot. With Alzheimers, the personality of the person you knew gradually disappears.

This fear of Alzheimer’s disease, and indeed other forms of dementia, means that many people seem to be reluctant to follow up on their suspicions at an early stage. The victims and the relations are simply in denial. But what if it was possible to reverse Alzheimer’s disease if diagnosed early enough?

There is hope, however

In the United States, a doctor by the name of Dale Bredesen has had outstanding results in treating Alzheimer’s disease because he views Alzheimer’s disease as a metabolic disease meaning that if the multifactorial causes are addressed early enough, nutrition for example, then the condition can be reversed.

Now what I’m about to say may sound far-fetched to the layman, but the metabolic nature of Alzheimer’s disease puts it in the same category as type II diabetes and various autoimmune diseases. A course of action which addresses energy acquisition and distribution will have the effect of reversing Alzheimer’s disease as long as it is caught at an early stage when the sufferer is still in a situation to adopt and adapt to certain lifestyle changes.

It is probably not politically correct to say that we know the answer at a time when expert health professionals stand in front of TV cameras implying that there is nothing to do to help Prince Henrik.

Early diagnosis is vital if something should be done to reverse AD

My point is that people who suspect they have signs of cognitive decline and their relations should come forward at an early stage to get a diagnosis and start working on changing lifestyle to reverse the condition. Remember that the pharmaceutical industry has spent billions on trying to find a cure. They probably never will because there are too many factors involved. All they can do is to slow it down.

For all four types of dementia medicine recommended by the Danish National Board of Health, the disease is not stopped, but the development of the symptoms are delayed a little. It has thus become clear that medicinal treatment can not stand alone. In recent years, a significant part of the research on dementia and the recently adopted National Action Plan in Denmark has been about giving patients more physical activity, healthier lifestyles and cognitive stimuli.

If I had to choose for myself or one in my family, the choice would not be difficult.

I suppose that question depends on how old you are, or if you have people in your family who have died of Alzheimer’s. If you’re one of those, I don’t have to tell you how dreadful this disease is. To see a loved one lose their identity and become an empty shell, finally, to die from the lack of ability to eat or breathe.

Alzheimer’s Epidemic?

It seems that Alzheimer’s disease is affecting more and more people. According to figures, there are over 530,000 people are present in the UK suffering from Alzheimer’s disease out of 862,000 suffering dementia. There are massive implications for society and the health service. Some £36,000 is used for every patient on average because full-time care is required. There adds up to some £30 billion a year, for which the NHS bears most of the burden.

The estimates are that the number of people with Alzheimer’s will triple in the next 30 years . You could say that that is a consequence of people living longer, which to a degree is true, and you could also say it is because the medicine currently available slows down the progress of the disease. Slowing down the disease, is in my opinion, a double-edged sword.

The outlook in the United States is even bleaker: according to the Alzheimer’s Society , AD is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s at present, and by 2050, this number could rise as high as 16 million. In 2017, Alzheimer’s and other dementia will cost the United States, $259 billion. By 2050. These costs could rise as high as $1.1 trillion. Every 66 seconds someone in the United States develops the disease. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

Drugs cannot cure Alzheimers – only slow down its progress

If you look at the material on Alzheimer’s on the Internet, you will find that there is a lot of research being done, but at present the does not appear to be a cure. At least, I cure by drug-related treatment. Unfortunately, it seems that money for research is channelled into discovering drugs or concentrating on genetic causes.

Although there are is no doubt that some of the cleverest brains in the world are facing the challenges of finding new treatments and drugs, it may well be that they are “barking up the wrong tree.”.

If one takes a look at the research going on that is not funded by drug companies or has a genetic causation slant, then you will find that some promising discoveries are being made. The primary thrust is that Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases are possibly caused by metabolic dysfunction, in turn, caused by chronic stress, and although genetic factors are critical, it is the way that genes are expressed. Given the chronic stress applied which leads to the disease.

Reverse Alzheimer’s? Are you serious?

This research has not gone unnoticed by Misha Sakharoff, who has developed a protocol which provides a drug-free path for the prevention and reversal of lifestyle diseases. He believes that by applying this protocol, early diagnosed Alzheimer’s can be stopped and even reversed.

You probably will choose not to believe the last sentence, because it is beyond most people’s belief system. Reverse Alzheimer’s? A crazy? When has brain tissue been destroyed?

Yes, it does sound a little far-fetched but happens to be based on sound engineering principles, which takes note of the very latest medical research.

You’re right to be scared about Alzheimer’s disease. It is a terrible thing. Some doctors say that everybody over the age of 45 should undergo a test, maybe have a brain scan, to see if they are in the early stages of dementia. But what is the point of having those tests, if there is no cure? I suppose many people would do that and then start looking at lifestyle changes to try and avoid developing the disease later, or merely pray and hope that some wonder drug is invented to cure all the 36 known metabolic pathways that need to be fixed. Even the drug companies admit that this is not feasible.

8-week course to learn about the latest research

Misha is offering an eight-week video course for all comers, to explain the what’s and the why of Alzheimer’s and how is protocol can stop it. Beyond this course, if early-diagnosed sufferers wish to take up the fight, there is the possibility of joining a paid course, in which the progress will be monitored by medical doctors.

Is this wishful thinking bullshit? I don’t think so. I’ve seen results of applying this protocol, and I have adopted the protocol to the ultimate benefit fit of my health. An American doctor has achieved a success rate of 9/10 patients returning to normal brain function. Even if this course leads to just 10% being cured, it is better than what we have right now.

It is possible to sign up for this course by visiting this page. If you know anybody who has early stage Alzheimer’s, has parents who have died from Alzheimer’s, or you simply want to address your fear and change your lifestyle to minimise the risk, I suggest you sign up. It is free.

I had not seen Eddie for a long time, not since the 25th reunion. He had changed, but had not all of them? He still had his hair, but he was a lot bigger than I remember him. There was a paunch, and he seemed laboured in his movements.

“How are things with you?” I asked.

“Well, I can’t complain. All the normal problems that you can expect when you get beyond 60. But it is all under control. I’m taking medication for it. But you’re looking good!”

“Well, I do my best to keep healthy.” I said.

“You know, it was easy to recognise you because you don’t look much different than when we started at work,” he said, catching his breath a little.

“Yes”, I replied, “I’m about the same weight as a was those days. So what medication are you taking?”

Statins for Cholesterol

Eddie replied, “Well, I take statins for my cholesterol.”

“What’s wrong with your cholesterol?”

“It’s too high, so the Doc recommended that I took them to prevent me getting a heart attack”.

“What do you mean it’s too high?” I asked.

“The doctor just says that it’s too high and I have to do something about it. He told me that having high cholesterol was a cause of heart attacks, and if I took these, I would reduce the risk.”

“I am not too sure about that.” I replied, “Cholesterol is produced naturally in the body, and you need it to function normally.”

Doctor’s Advice

Eddie continued, “The Doc says that if I take the statins, and stop eating fat, especially saturated fat, like in meat, then it would further reduce the risk.”.

“Have you noticed anything since you been taking these?”

“Funny you should say that. I have begun to wonder whether I’m getting Alzheimer’s, because of my brain feels a bit foggy. I also get some muscle pains,”

I thought to myself that it was shocking how people blindly follow authority. Patients believe every word the doctors say, and doctors believe everything they read in research papers and information from the drug companies, it seems.

“So, what do you eat these days?” I asked Eddie.

Keep taking the tablets

“While cutting down on fats was a problem, because I stopped having butter and cream and eating the fat off of the meat years ago when I switched to low-fat stuff like margarine. I like eating bread although I have to be careful it doesn’t give me acid indigestion. But that’s no problem either because taken some tablets to stop the reflux.”

“I’ve also started to put on weight in the last few years, but I guess that’s natural. I mean, it’s normal to put on about a pound a year, isn’t it?” Eddie asked.

“Well, you have to watch that weight gain, in my opinion. You may be heading for type II diabetes”.

“Funny you should say that. After a year or so taking statins, I went to the doctors and he told me that I have type II diabetes. So I am taking some tablets for that as well.”

“Aren’t you fed up with taking all these pills?”

When you age, you take pills

“Well, it’s a fact of life. When you get older, you to take a lot of pills to stay alive. Everyone around here takes lots pills. If we didn’t have the pills, will be dying earlier. So it stands to reason that we should keep taking the pills”.

“I’m a member of Club No Med.”

“Club no Med.? Is that a club for older swingers?”

“No!” I laughed. “It means that I am not on any medication.”

“So you live with your illnesses?”

“As far as I know, I don’t have any illnesses.”

“What you mean you have no illnesses? You are the same age as I am, so you must have some of these things. Is it all that healthy natural living in Scandinavia that keeps you away from the doctor’s?”

“I’m not sure about Scandinavia bit. There are quite a few people on medication there, too. There are obese people as well. But I do think people are better informed about their health choices.”

You pay your taxes, you take your medicine

Eddie said, “But I mean if you have a national health service which you’ve paid the tax for, and get pills or something to sort you out, isn’t it best just to go there and get the prescription?”

“Yes, that would be the easy way out. Not having to think about it, or do something actively about your health.” Just a touch of sarcasm in my voice.

“You can’t do anything about your health, can you? I mean, it’s all in your genes, isn’t it? If sickness and death come, you can’t do much about it. Your number is up.”

” I beg to differ on that point,” said I

I had not eaten breakfast that morning, but now it was approaching lunchtime, I felt like having something to eat. So I took out a bag of coconut pieces. I offered one to Eddie.

It’s full of fat!

“No thanks,! I’m not eating that. It’s full of fat!”.

Eddie reached for his backpack and took out some food.

He said, “I get very hungry if I don’t have a snack. But I’ve got some healthy stuff here.” He produced a banana, some orange juice, and one of those muesli bars. I must admit, I raised my eyebrows.

I could not help myself from commenting, “Full of sugar, that lot.”.

“No, it’s not. It’s full of fruit and fibre. Good stuff!”.

Whatever, I thought to myself. What a disaster it was for my fellow countrymen. Such a contrast to visiting a country like Sweden. Not that everybody is super thin and healthy in Sweden, but they do seem to be able to look after themselves better. Perhaps it’s because they have inverted the food pyramid a couple of years back. Or perhaps it’s because they have low carb sections in the supermarkets.

Survival rates are better. There are fewer transfats in the diet, and people are smoking less.

I believe that better education to encourage people to change your lifestyle would be a far more effective way of preventing heart attacks. Along with the acceptance by health professionals that cholesterol is not the cause, but an indicator, and that they accept the latest research, which shows the real reason.

Are illness and sickness really an act of God? Philosophically, I suppose the answer is yes. But I would like to believe that by taking responsibility for my health and trying to understand the physiology according to the latest research, that I could do something about it.

Join Club NoMed today – it’s free!

I am very proud not to be taking medications. I’m sure that if I went to my doctor, she would find something or another for which I should be taking medications. But my blood pressure is normal; my pulse is low, my BMI is 22.5, I am physically active, I sleep well, I think clearly, Beyond the age of 45, the best benchmark one can have is to feel as if you are 45. But my benchmark is also to be a member of Club No Med after the age of 45.

“Some health professionals are also confused – they have to discard the old nutrition is dietary dogmas that they learned at college, took to heart and have been preaching to decades and take on board the latest advances in nutrition science based on high-quality evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) And epidemiological studies published in leading peer-reviewed journals.”

The point is that we should not be confrontational with nutritionists and other health professionals, but rather educate them as to the current state-of-the-art.

Adopt, Adapt, Adept

We have a mantra at Sakharoff.com: Adopt, Adapt and be Adept. Through this, we have the possibility to create a revolution in health care.

One of the questions I want to put to the responsible citizens of the world is how they expect to be treated in old age? Do they want to be such a burden on society and indirectly on children? Do they expect to have the care that they will require when they have a bouquet of lifestyle diseases? When there are simply not enough resources to go around?

Adopt a new lifestyle

What is so difficult about learning a new lifestyle? Is it because that the dogmas that have been in place for the last 40 years or so embedded in people’s psyche that they cannot possibly think of changing? Is it because we are under so much stress in our daily lives are that we take on bad habits just to be able to keep up?

The High Cost of Chronic Disease

Perhaps it is a combination of all these things. If one accepts that lifestyle diseases all have this more or less the same root causes, then you can start assessing the cost to society. It has been said that each Alzheimer’s patient in the United Kingdom costs the National Health Service some £32,250 a year[1]. I wonder what the figures are for heart disease, asthma and diabetes? In Denmark asthma is considered to be the source of many million lost working days every year.

By taking on the education and adopting the lifestyle changes, it would be possible to save nations a lot of money. In Denmark, the equivalent National Health Service is responsible for about 10.4% of GDP[2]. Of that, we can attribute some 12% to the cost of medicine[3]. (However, these numbers are substantially higher in the US.)

The Danish government has introduced a system to deal with the high cost of medicine, whereby copy medication is preferred over the original. The joke about this is that each copy medicine has its colour code and this means with older patients; they become very confused about the dosage and which medicine to take.

Yes, it is true people are getting older and living longer. But we must seriously look at the quality of life and the availability of care for older citizens. In non-Western countries, there has been a tradition of the sons and daughters to look after their parents when they get old. Unfortunately, with the migration to Europe, this aspect of traditional life is being discarded. Then you have the awful situation of older citizens, who do not necessarily have the language skills in the new country, having to be cared for by the welfare state.

Reduce Doctors’ Workload

I’m sure that family doctors have a very high workload in dealing with chronic diseases among the population. I sincerely hope that they would welcome a way of reducing this workload. It would be far more effective if the doctors were responsible for educating the citizens instead of medicating the citizens.

Is it fair to expect citizens of all intellectual abilities to learn how to take responsibility for their health? In this country, as well as most countries I would think, citizens are obliged to understand every law, especially tax laws. “Ignorance of the law is no defence”. Learning new habits as to how to live healthily is no more difficult than, say, understanding the law required to drive a vehicle. Yet most people learn how to drive.

We did it with smoking…

Governments have been quite successful, although not entirely so, in persuading people not to smoke. It has been estimated that one unit of currency spent on prevention of smoking saves 10,000 units of currency in treatment later in life. With smoking, governments were dealing with a highly addictive substance and a very strong industry.

I think public opinion should be developed to allow governments to take on Big Agri, Big Pharma, and Big Food. The problem of sugar addiction remains. No eyebrows are raised today when someone eats cakes or put sugar in their tea or coffee, or consume massive portions of carbohydrates and seemingly incessant eating. Indeed, the advice has been to snack regularly.

Today, not many people would light up a cigarette in a home or an office, because the customs have changed, bolstered by legislation, which means that people have to go outside to smoke. What’s more, it is an antisocial habit – yes, because smoking directly affects other people around. Of course, eating yourself fat does not have the same effect on others. Not directly in any case. In the long term, there is a devastating effect. In countries like the United States, the burden of health may land on the family and developing chronic diseases can seriously damage your wealth. In Western Europe, the state has a responsibility of providing health care universally. But who is the state? Regarding finance, it is the citizens having to pay tax. It is the hospitals who have to divert resources to pay for medication, very often cutting down on nursing – the function that is required to heal people, in the case of acute illness.

So it should be quite clear that the current path is unsustainable. Nations will drown in health care costs. Something has to be done, and has to be done now!

It started as a smoothie. I have often made a smoothie that includes some healthy nutrients. At the same time, I try to keep within the bounds of a low-carb diet.

One of the factors in integrative health is the immune system. Along with nourishment, breathing, mental training, and movement. These 5 vectors are all interlinked. Working with these areas and “connecting the dots” is the key to good health.

What is our immune system? The system in our body that fights disease and foreign bodies. It consists of the lymphatic system. Part of the function of this system is to transport white blood cells to and from the lymph nodes. In this way, it helps rid the body of toxins, waste and other unwanted materials.

What is inflammation? It is the body’s response to harmful stimuli from foreign organisms. This is a biological reaction to the work of the white blood cells, sent by the lymphatic system.

Is inflammation bad? Not at all, when it is acute. It tells you to stop injuring yourself further – by movement, for example, in a joint injury. In other words, acute inflammation is a good thing. The body repairs itself this way.

So when is it bad? When in becomes chronic, or systemic. Many factors cause systemic inflammation. Systemic inflammation can lead to major health problems, such as cardiovascular disease. We do not want systemic inflammation. We want to avoid it.

What has food got to do with it? Certain kinds of food cause systemic inflammation. Not in everyone. Some people have a genetic predisposal to react to some foods. For example, foods from the nightshade family – potatoes, aubergines, tomatoes and sweet peppers. Hardly surprising when deadly nightshade (belladonna) is a poison. At a cellular level, the toxins present act as an irritant, thus causing inflammation.

I recently saw a list of 24 foods that are anti-inflammatory. There are more than this number. I noticed that several of them were in my smoothie. So I tried to expand my smoothie to include more. Only my smoothie became a porridge. On account of chia seeds, I suspect.

I will explain my porridge.

The base is buttermilk. Nothing too anti-inflammatory here. 250 ml. Organic. To this, I add a little fruit. Not too much so as not to kick me out of ketosis. As I have this for breakfast, or “break fast”, I drink a bullet-proof coffee before. I add a small piece banana, just 20g. A good source of potassium and soluble fibre – good for the gut. You can substitute this with cauliflower for less sugar. Red seedless grapes. 20g. They contain anthocyanins and resveratrol.

Blueberries. 30g. Blueberries are sometimes called a superfood because of the antioxidants and vitamins. Pomegranates, 30g. Contain phytochemicals.

So that was the fruits. Now the seeds. I mix seeds together, adding 40g in total to the porridge. Chia seeds (16g) are the reason it becomes a porridge. They undergo a dramatic expansion when put in liquids. Lots of omega-3 fats. Not as bioavailable as those from oily fish, but still. Important in reducing the inflammation related to heart disease. Flax seeds (8g) for similar benefits to chia. Hemp seeds (8g), anti-inflammatory due to gamma linolenic acid. Sesame seeds (8g) contains sesamol. Also, these seeds contain lots of minerals.

Seed mix – chia, flax, sesame and hemp

Then we add the spices. Ginger (10g) is the one you are most familiar with. Contains gingerols. powerful stuff. Turmeric is also touted as a superfood. The active ingredient here is curcumin. Be careful handling this (as a root). It stains everything! Do not get it on white plastic appliances! I also add a fair amount of cumin, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon. Almost like a curry!

Sometimes I will cut a sprig of kale from the garden. Kale is available the whole winter.

That is 11 of the list of 24. I don’t think I want to add fish or olive oil! I take 5ml of cod liver oil on the side to get DHA and EPA plus vitamin D. Garlic would be useful. It tends to screw your social life.

All this can be a little bitter, so I add some vanilla flavoured stevia drops.

Then I use the hand blender and after I have liquefied everything, Ileave it for a while. This lets the chia seeds bloat.

Yes, there are other things I could add. You can vary the recipe a bit. Apple peel and cherries might be a tasty addition.

What does it do? For me, it eliminates joint pain. I used to have to wake up every hour to roll over at night. This was due to pain in my back and my hips. I do not do this anymore. I get a good night’s sleep.

I know that by eating or drinking this concoction, I am reducing inflammation. I am including other factors that reduce chronic inflammation. I am following the integrative health protocol. This is the key to good health. A life without pain. This is important when you are over 60. No – this is vital when you are over 60. It is the difference between living and existing.

I have had a great morning! I fasted since yesterday afternoon. I started the day with a glass of water with bicarbonate of soda. Followed that sometime later with a Bulletproof tea. That is tea with coconut oil, dairy cream and butter. Delicious!

I then went swimming. With bags of energy, 2,500 metres crawl was no problem. Then a sauna and a cold plunge. I came out of the swimming hall feeling energised and healthy.

I went to the local supermarket to buy lunch and met a friend, E., whom I had not seen for quite a while.

“Steve, you look so thin! Are you ill?”. I can tell you that I am used to this question. What she said next was new, though. “You know, you should not be so thin being over 60 – it badly affects your looks!”

Here is a photo of me taken when I got home. What do you think?

OK, I thought. How would I look if I was in a wheelchair. Having had both my legs amputated, due to Type 2 Diabetes? I didn’t say this. I could have retorted, “You’ve gained a lot of weight, are you ill ?” Because that would be speaking the truth.

I tried to explain my lifestyle change.

“Oh, I want to enjoy the pleasures of life -I smoke, I drink, I do not eat ecological food – it’s rubbish! Besides, my BMI (Body Mass Index) is good”

Knowing that the BMI is not an accurate way of measuring obesity, I asked her a question.

“Have you heard of the waist/height ratio?”

“No – what is that?”

I explained that this was a far better method of indicating if you are overweight or underweight. She asked me for something to write on. I gave her one of my Sakharoff.com cards. “Now, tell me the formula?”

I said that you take the waist measurement above the navel. Divide this by the height. If the result is over .5, then it shows you are obese. I showed her using my measurements on the calculator on my smartphone. 82/179 (cm) =.4581. She was in no hurry to let me calculate hers!

We continued the conversation as we walked around the shop. She had a friend in Spain who has always been so thin and now, at 71, she was ill. I said that it was possible to be underweight as well. The art of it is to find a weight where you reach homeostasis – normality. Or in Nature’s eyes, perfection.

If you follow a ketogenic diet, your body will find its right weight. Automatically. Because your blood sugar levels are stable. Your insulin is thus stable. That means that the insulin is not storing excess carbs as fat for a rainy day. It worked for me. According to everyone I meet, I seem to have the DNA from a different species. They are not built like that. It won’t work for them.

Bullshit!

We left each other at the checkout. E., thinking I was a health fanatic. Me, thinking that she was cheating herself of life. Well, you win some, you lose some.

I have just watched the BBC documentary “Diabetes Disaster”. Please watch it? The link is above. What you will see is tragic and avoidable. This is such a great shame for the United Kingdom. Indeed, for the world.

Forget the threat of radical Islam, Russia, North Korea, Aids and Climate Change. This can, and so it seems most likely will, threaten your existence. Especially if nothing changes in the way we deal with T2D (type 2 diabetes)

1 in 10 of the residents of Birmingham, England, have T2D. This is causing incredible strain on the NHS (National Health Service). The complications include cardiovascular problems, kidney problems (nephropathy), neuropathy, joint inflammation and blindness (retinopathy). Sores that do not heal may lead to amputations of feet and legs.

This man had his leg amputated because of gangrene in his foot

I would say that the main causes are too many carbohydrates in the diet and lack of exercise. But then again, I am not a doctor. What do I know? More to the point, what do they know?

In the documentary, we hear that the blame for the situation is “the system not working”.

Hospitals in Birmingham and other parts of the UK are being flooded with T2D patients. This is ruining the country and incurring massive costs.

We learn that there are 3 times the number of T2D cases than all forms of cancer.

We see John, who has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 41 (obese) who finds it hard to control his diet. He takes medication: Metformin, Victoza and insulin. Why insulin? Surely this makes his obesity worse?

Yet one surgeon says the problem is too much fat and too much sugar. Why too much fat? Have they never heard of LCHF, Paleo or ketogenic diets? Dear surgeon and T2D sufferer: Understand this. Eating carbohydrates is as damaging as smoking. Sitting still is as damaging as smoking. Yet everybody acknowledges the dangers and risks of smoking.

40% of diabetics are on dialysis (according to the commentary), which means they have degrees of kidney failure. Their blood needs to be cleaned by a machine. We see a former sportsman who is on dialysis. It surprised him to learn that he had T2D. I do not understand that people prefer amputations, Bariatric surgery or dialysis. They could learn an alternative lifestyle. Structured movement, correct breathing and low-carb diet. It is not hard. It takes time and choosing to take responsibility for one’s health.

Before the Millenium, T2D among children was unheard of in the UK. Now there are ever-increasing numbers. Wow! Is it contagious? (My joke.)

We meet a boy of 15 with T2D. He says “It can happen to everyone and anyone”. Wrong! Carbohydrate “poisoning” can happen to anyone and everyone – and it obviously does.

The frightening part of adolescent T2D is that the complications are serious. More so than with older people. Children are suffering from fatty liver and sclerosis of the liver.

We learn that there are 4 million diabetes sufferers in the UK. The NHS will have to make choices. Who and what to treat. Or run out of money. The NHS spends £1 billion per annum on treating T2D. An amputation costs some £38,000 including aftercare.

We see a 57-year old woman with both feet amputated. She has complications, so one leg is to be amputated above the knee. She almost looks happy with the attention she receives from the doctor when he informs her of this. Strange. Was I really born and brought up in this strange country? I can conclude that eating carbs makes people dumb. I do not need research for that. It is evidence-based.

Another woman has Bariatric surgery. The surgeon butchers her stomach. He wants to do many more such operations. He claims it is “cost-effective” as it avoids later complications. Evidence? He says the problem is lack of resources. He means money.

So, the cause is bad diets? Can these doctors be specific? No. One says that the disease is unrelenting. What disease? T2D or eating carbohydrates?

At the end, we see John on a diet. He eats a plate of porridge (carbs) and looks forward to an apple (carbs) later. No one has told him that the carbs are exacerbating his hunger. If he had an omelette, for example, he would not feel so hungry.

I was sad and also angry watching this. It is not a phenomena restricted to the UK. It is global. It is not only treatable without drugs and surgery, it is in most cases preventable. There is a waste of resources. The beneficiary is the medical industry. The losers are the victims and society.

But hey! I live in Denmark! We are better informed! Only the biggest company here makes drugs to treat T2D. I should not rock the boat. This country can continue to build its wealth on the misery of others.

About the author: Steve Pickering lives in Denmark, is English and born in 1953. Health and fitness has always been an interest. He was startled by the positive results of adopting the Sakharoff Protocol. So he decided to help Misha Sakharoff produce and promote a video course to help people improve their health. Along with his work with Misha, he teaches English privately.

Metformin is being touted as a candidate for keeping people alive until they are 120! (source–Daily Telegraph)

Should we clap our hands with excitement? NO!

The very notion of using a drug to stay alive should set off alarm bells with every person. Metformin is a generic drug, which means that no one in particular owns the rights to produce it. At the present time, it is cheap. If a drugs giant wanted to, they could corner the market and increase the price. This is every drug company’s boss dream come true!

What is metformin (sometimes misnamed Metmorphine) currently prescribed for? It regulates blood glucose levels in diabetes patients. This is without the side effect of straight insulin, which is an increase in body weight.

In the context of longevity, what is Metformin supposed to do? According to the article:

“Metformin increases the number of oxygen molecules released into a cell, which appears to boost robustness and longevity.”

Do we need a drug to do that? Have they not heard that a practice known as Buteyko Breathing does exactly that? I am doing Buteyko breathing as a part of the Sakharoff Path of Strong Health course. So, according to this research, I am also going to live until I am 120 – without drugs!

Why are we so keen to take drugs for every condition? Drugs are typically synthetic biochemical substances. They are prescribed to suppress the symptoms of physiological conditions. Not necessarily to cure the condition. The efficacy is based on evidence. The evidence does not show if it affects other body systems. Especially if drug companies fund the research.

57 years more of taking a drug without side effects; are you kidding me?

Minor Side Effects

Some of the side effects that can occur with metformin may not need medical attention. As your body adjusts to the medicine during treatment these side effects may go away. Your health care professional may also be able to tell you about ways to reduce or prevent some of these side effects. If any of the following side effects continue, are bothersome or if you have any questions about them, check with your health care professional:

More common:

Acid or sour stomach

belching

bloated

excess air or gas in the stomach or intestines

full feeling

heartburn

indigestion

loss of appetite

metallic taste in the mouth

passing of gas

stomachache

stomach upset or pain

vomiting

weight loss

Less common:

Abnormal stools

bad, unusual, or unpleasant (after) taste

change in taste

difficulty with moving

discoloration of the fingernails or toenails

flu-like symptoms

joint pain

rash

runny nose

sneezing

stuffy nose

swollen joints

To the best of my knowledge, Buteyko breathing has NONE of the side effects. But it does the same thing as “scientists” claim Metformin does.

In short, Buteyko Breathing encourages retention of carbon dioxide in the lungs and blood. This facilitates the release of oxygen from haemeglobin to the cells. This, oxygenating cells. The Bohr Effect. Look it up.

I, for one, prefer a physical method of attaining longevity over taking drugs. Any drugs. What about you?